Oris ProPilot X Calibre 400 Watch Review

Watches & Wonders brought out a number of industry favorites, but none-so-darling as the Oris ProPilot X Calibre 400. The watch became an instant favorite of not only WristEnthusiast, but many MANY other publications around the market. It’s very easy to see why too. It’s lightweight and stealthy with really clean lines and an aggressive aesthetic. So naturally, we had to get our hands on one to review.

THE CASE & BRACELET:

First, let’s start with the case, which is difficult to discuss without also including the (really) nice bracelet it comes on (I’ll get into the bracelet in a minute). The case measures in at a very wear-able 39mm x 11.8mm with a modest lug-to-lug width of just under 47mm. The watch is manufactured out of a dark, almost smoky Titanium material which presents an almost stealth-jet vibe to the entire watch. If you remember the original ProPilot X, you’ll identify just how much smaller and slimmer this watch is from that. In a sense, this is really an every-day watch, and truly wears like one.

The watch sits nicely on my wrist (I know, what a generic statement) because of the way the extended lugs taper from the case. They’re less exaggerated than many pilot watches on the market, but still solid. As a left-hander, I was afraid the thicker crown guards would dig in a little underneath the crown, but was pleasantly surprised that they did not. Surprisingly, and not so apparently unless you view the watch from specific angles, the sapphire curves down to the turbine-style bezel instead of laying flat like most Pilot watches we see. The result gives the watch a nice fluid profile on the wrist.

The bracelet quickly became one of my favorite aspects of the watch, though I did have one issue that I found to be frustrating over the course of my time with the watch. Lets start with the good stuff.

The bracelet is simply comfortable. The aggressive angles, and steep vertical slope and taper simply feel good on the wrist. And since the watch is smaller, and more lightweight in nature, the thicker profile of the bracelet became appreciated. I felt the watch was there, but it wasn’t as heavy or intrusive as steel.

I found the seatbelt buckle-style release of the folding clasp to be quite charming. It did take a minute to get used to the upward arch required to release the clasp - I believe it’s by design, but I found myself wincing when I first used it because I felt like I was forcing something not designed to be forced - However as time went on, I found myself wanting the LIFT clasp on every bracelet I owned.

The only issue I had with the bracelet, had to do with the way the tapered links laid when you put the watch down. Towards the top of the case, where the taper is more severe, the links would often catch on themselves in an upright position (pictured below). The problem was, that you couldn’t just push them back into place, you had to take the watch off, open the clasp, and pull the links outward so the bracelet laid correctly.

Pardon the fingerprints, I had to take the watch off.

Perhaps it was just a fluke of this specific bracelet, but it happened to me on multiple occasions - specifically when putting the watch down so the bracelet bowed, then going to put the watch back on. Overall, it was a mild problem, and in the long-run wouldn’t prevent me from buying the watch, however I did find it worth noting.

THE DIAL:

Normally, I wouldn’t be ecstatic about an entirely monochromatic watch, however with the Oris ProPilot X Calibre 400, it just works really well. The model comes in three different dial colors - a bright Salmon dial, a Navy Blue dial, and the Grey dial model we have in for review today. Of the three, the grey dial is definitely the more utilitarian design that just screams Oris ProPilot X.

When the press images first came out, I was concerned about the legibility of the grey dial model, because unlike it’s counterparts, the dial features thin glossy black indicators with a smoky grey finished handset. Each hand is filled with a dark grey lume that burns blue when hit with the light. It’s a clean look against the grey dial, but I was finding it didn’t last very long. Something I imagine is due to the darker nature of the indice that it’s filling with the BG-W9 lume.

However, despite my concerns, I found the legibility to be damn near perfect overall. For a watch that’s designed to be for a Pilot, Oris knocked it out of the park, even for a more toned-down colorway.

One of the features I appreciated the most about the ProPilot X release, was the matching date window to indices. So often, the brand will simply deal with the absolute brilliant white date ring, but in the case of this model, the brand has swapped for a matching black date ring with white numerals. It’s superbly legible, and easily picked out at a glance.

THE MOVEMENT:

There are a lot of stars of this show, but the one that stands out the most is hands down the Calibre 400 movement. The Calibre 400 has quickly become a staple for Oris. We first saw it in the wildly popular Aquis collection, followed shortly thereafter by the brand’s all-new Pilot X Collection.

The movement finds its feature list of the Jack-Of-All-Trade variety - They’re impressive, but also utility driven - which makes up for its fairly simple finishing. Oris prides itself in it’s 10-year service warranty through My Oris, it has a whopping 120-hour power reserve, 21 jewels, and as an added bonus, VISIBLE. That’s right, through the sapphire case-back the Calibre 400 is on full display.

Overall, the ProPilot X Calibre 400 seems like a logical progression for the brand. The original launch of the ProPilot Predecessor came with a very niche appeal. It was 44mm, skeletonized, and particularly aggressive aesthetically. It wasn’t a particularly easy watch to throw on and, while beautiful, took a hit when it came to practicality.

The new ProPilot X is a much more toned down everyday-man watch that still manages to keep the DNA of it’s predecessor. I believe will find quite a wide following as a solid daily wearer. I won’t lie, this watch aims to be a solid contender for a perfect daily companion - and in that endeavor, I feel it has succeeded.

So how much is the Oris ProPilot X Calibre 400?

Price for the watch will come in at a fairly modest $4,300 USD.

Read more about the watch on the brand’s website.